Prep football: San Marin overcomes slow start in rout of Terra Linda

San Marin High football coach Steve Stanfel said Wednesday that he didn't want his players to be stale following the team's bye week.

For the first half of the first quarter on Saturday, they were — but then the Mustangs shook off the cobwebs and starting piling on the points in a 54-0 thumping of Terra Linda to remain undefeated in league play.

"We came out and we kind of came out a little sloppy," Stanfel said. "Kind of had that bye hangover, we actually did have it."

San Marin marched the ball downfield on its first possession but had to settle for a field goal — the first of two from kicker Jeff Walchli.

"We made some mistakes," Stanfel said. "A lot of dropped balls by our receivers at the beginning, and that's what we talked about at halftime, just kind of getting sharp and doing much better."

The Mustangs saw the ball well after that — quarterback Manny Wilkins threw for 120 yards — and picked off Terra Linda quarterbacks Easton English and Tony Martino a combined five times. Four of those picks resulted in a San Marin touchdown.

"It was really cool to finally see the secondary get their chance to kind of shine and help us out a little bit" said Kyle Chernoff, who ran for 91 yards and two touchdowns.

It was also a good tune-up for the Mustangs (7-1, 5-0 MCAL), who host Justin-Siena next weekend and defending champion Marin Catholic in the final game of the regular season.

"I think we have a very good team that can do some very special things," Wilkins said. "There's still a lot of this season left to be played. We have our eyes set big and our goals set big."

Wilkins ran for two touchdowns (102 rushing yards total) and connected with Quest Parham for a touchdown on a 75-yard play. San Marin also had touchdowns from Joseph Widny, on a 26-yard interception return, and Cristian Batres, who had three carries for 18 yards in the fourth quarter.

Both Stanfel and Chernoff said they're looking forward to facing both teams at the end of the season, which Chernoff said gives the team control over the standings.

"We don't have to wait for MC to lose so we can get the championship," he said. "It's in our own hands."

Justin-Siena (5-3, 3-2) lost to Marin Catholic last weekend before taking its bye, and will be at San Marin at 2 p.m. on Nov. 2.

"Hopefully we're playing for a championship against MC, but we need to take care of Justin first," Stanfel said. "They're a good team, they're disciplined and they'll be tough."

For Terra Linda, it's another lesson learned in what has become a rebuilding year. The offense shined briefly in the first quarter, when English connected with receivers for a total of 36 yards on four consecutive plays. A San Marin penalty moved the team further downfield, but the Trojans (2-7, 0-6) were unable to find the end zone.

"We've got a long way to go in building our football program," TL coach Damon Keeve said. "I think we've got to build up the coaching staff and then recruit."